Tiled display and image correction method

ABSTRACT

A tiled display includes a plurality of display devices respectively including a plurality of pixels, and a main controller that processes an input image signal to provide an image signal to the plurality of display devices. Based on distance data between adjacent display devices among the plurality of display devices, the main controller generates a corrected image signal that increases luminance near a boundary portion of the adjacent display devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2020-0184723, filed on Dec. 28, 2020, which is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND Field

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to a tiled display and animage correction method.

DISCUSSION OF THE BACKGROUND

As a device for displaying an image, a display device such as a lightemitting display or a liquid crystal display is used. There is a limitto a size of a screen that one display device may provide. Accordingly,a tiled display has been developed that implements a large screen bydisposing or connecting a plurality of display devices to be adjacent toeach other. The tiled display is being used for expositions,exhibitions, event halls, performance halls, and outdoor advertisements.

However, in the tiled display, a boundary portion of adjacent displaypanels may be viewed, and an entire screen may be discontinuouslyrecognized.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forunderstanding of the background of the inventive concepts, and,therefore it may contain information that does not constitute prior art.

SUMMARY

Embodiments are to provide a tiled display and an image correctionmethod that may improve visual recognition of a boundary portion.

Additional features of the inventive concepts will be set forth in thedescription which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the inventive concepts.

An embodiment provides a tiled display including a plurality of displaydevices respectively including a plurality of pixels, and a maincontroller that processes an input image signal to provide an imagesignal to the plurality of display devices. Based on distance databetween adjacent display devices among the plurality of display devices,the main controller generates a corrected image signal that increasesluminance near a boundary portion of the adjacent display devices.

The distance data is based on a distance between adjacent pixels in theadjacent display devices or a distance between outermost portions of theadjacent display devices.

The main controller may generate the corrected image signal when adistance provided by the distance data is within a predetermined value,and may generate a normal image signal when the distance provided by thedistance data is outside of the predetermined value.

Even if the distance is within the predetermined value, when a blackimage is displayed near the boundary portion, the main controller maygenerate a normal image signal.

Increasing luminance near the boundary portion may include increasingluminance of one or more pixel rows or pixel columns adjacent to theboundary portion.

Increasing luminance near the boundary portion may include graduallyincreasing luminance of a plurality of pixel rows or pixel columnsadjacent to the boundary portion toward the boundary portion.

The tiled display may further include a distance measurer generatingdistance data between the plurality of display devices to provide thedistance data to the main controller.

The distance measurer may include a plurality of sensors respectivelydisposed in the plurality of display devices.

The plurality of sensors may include a main sensor disposed in one ofthe plurality of display devices and a sub-sensor disposed at remainingdisplay devices of the plurality of display devices, and the main sensormay measure a distance to the sub-sensor to generate the distance data.

The distance measurer may generate off-center distance data between acentral display device disposed at a center of the plurality of displaydevices and display devices surrounding the central display device, andthe main controller may generate the corrected image signal based on thedistance data and the off-center distance data.

Another embodiment provides an image correction method of a tileddisplay including a plurality of display devices, including generatingdistance data between adjacent display devices among the plurality ofdisplay devices; generating a corrected image signal that increasesluminance near a boundary portion of the adjacent display device, basedon an input image signal and the distance data; and displaying acorrected image with increased luminance near the boundary portionaccording to the corrected image signal.

The distance data may be generated based on a distance between adjacentpixels in the adjacent display devices or a distance between outermostportions of the adjacent display devices.

The corrected image signal may generate the corrected image signal whena distance provided by the distance data is within a predeterminedvalue.

Even if the distance is within the predetermined value, when a blackimage is displayed near the boundary portion, a normal image signal maybe generated.

The displaying of the corrected image may include increasing luminanceof one or more pixel rows or pixel columns adjacent to the boundaryportion.

The displaying of the corrected image may include gradually increasingluminance of a plurality of pixel rows or pixel columns adjacent to theboundary portion toward the boundary portion.

The generating of the distance data may include measuring a distancebetween a plurality of sensors respectively disposed in the plurality ofdisplay devices.

The generating of the distance data may include measuring a distancebetween a plurality of sub-sensors disposed in the plurality of displaydevices and a main sensor disposed outside the tiled display.

The image correction method may further include generating off-centerdistance data between a central display device disposed at a centeramong a plurality of display devices and display devices surrounding thecentral display device. The corrected image signal may be generatedbased on the input image signal, the distance data, and the off-centerdistance data.

The tiled display may display a corrected image in which luminance nearthe boundary portion is increased and luminance of a central portion ofthe tiled display is increased according to the corrected image signal.

According to the embodiment, it is possible to improve visualrecognition of a boundary in a tiled display. Further, according to theembodiments, there is an advantageous effect that may be recognizedthroughout the present specification.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are illustrative and explanatory andare intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate illustrative embodiments of theinvention, and together with the description serve to explain theinventive concepts.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a tiled display according toembodiments described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a display device included in thetiled display of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4 respectively illustrate a schematic view of a tileddisplay according to embodiments described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an image correction method accordingto embodiments described herein.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 respectively illustrate a schematic view of a tileddisplay according to embodiments described herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates a luminance adjustment area in a tiled displayaccording to embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various embodiments or implementations of theinvention. As used herein “embodiments” and “implementations” areinterchangeable words that are non-limiting examples of devices ormethods employing one or more of the inventive concepts disclosedherein. It is apparent, however, that various embodiments may bepracticed without these specific details or with one or more equivalentarrangements. In other instances, well-known structures and devices areillustrated in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring various embodiments. Further, various embodiments may bedifferent, but do not have to be exclusive. For example, specificshapes, configurations, and characteristics of an embodiment may be usedor implemented in another embodiment without departing from theinventive concepts.

Unless otherwise specified, the illustrated embodiments are to beunderstood as providing illustrative features of varying detail of someways in which the inventive concepts may be implemented in practice.Therefore, unless otherwise specified, the features, components,modules, layers, films, panels, regions, and/or aspects, etc.(hereinafter individually or collectively referred to as “elements”), ofthe various embodiments may be otherwise combined, separated,interchanged, and/or rearranged without departing from the inventiveconcepts.

The use of cross-hatching and/or shading in the accompanying drawings isgenerally provided to clarify boundaries between adjacent elements. Assuch, neither the presence nor the absence of cross-hatching or shadingconveys or indicates any preference or requirement for particularmaterials, material properties, dimensions, proportions, commonalitiesbetween illustrated elements, and/or any other characteristic,attribute, property, etc., of the elements, unless specified. Further,in the accompanying drawings, the size and relative sizes of elementsmay be exaggerated for clarity and/or descriptive purposes. When anembodiment may be implemented differently, a specific process order maybe performed differently from the described order. For example, twoconsecutively described processes may be performed substantially at thesame time or performed in an order opposite to the described order.Also, like reference numerals denote like elements.

When an element, such as a layer, is referred to as being “on,”“connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may bedirectly on, connected to, or coupled to the other element or layer orintervening elements or layers may be present. When, however, an elementor layer is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,”or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are nointervening elements or layers present. To this end, the term“connected” may refer to physical, electrical, and/or fluid connection,with or without intervening elements. For the purposes of thisdisclosure, “at least one of X, Y, and Z” and “at least one selectedfrom the group consisting of X, Y, and Z” may be construed as X only, Yonly, Z only, or any combination of two or more of X, Y, and Z, such as,for instance, XYZ, XYY, YZ, and ZZ. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items.

Although the terms “first,” “second,” etc. may be used herein todescribe various types of elements, these elements should not be limitedby these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element fromanother element. Thus, a first element discussed below could be termed asecond element without departing from the teachings of the disclosure.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “under,” “lower,”“above,” “upper,” “over,” “higher,” “side” (e.g., as in “sidewall”), andthe like, may be used herein for descriptive purposes, and, thereby, todescribe one elements relationship to another element(s) as illustratedin the drawings. Spatially relative terms are intended to encompassdifferent orientations of an apparatus in use, operation, and/ormanufacture in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. Forexample, if the apparatus in the drawings is turned over, elementsdescribed as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would thenbe oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the term“below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below.Furthermore, the apparatus may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90degrees or at other orientations), and, as such, the spatially relativedescriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms, “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Moreover,the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,”when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one ormore other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof. It is also noted that, as used herein, the terms“substantially,” “about,” and other similar terms, are used as terms ofapproximation and not as terms of degree, and, as such, are utilized toaccount for inherent deviations in measured, calculated, and/or providedvalues that would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art.

As customary in the field, some embodiments are described andillustrated in the accompanying drawings in terms of functional blocks,units, and/or modules. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatthese blocks, units, and/or modules are physically implemented byelectronic (or optical) circuits, such as logic circuits, discretecomponents, microprocessors, hard-wired circuits, memory elements,wiring connections, and the like, which may be formed usingsemiconductor-based fabrication techniques or other manufacturingtechnologies. In the case of the blocks, units, and/or modules beingimplemented by microprocessors or other similar hardware, they may beprogrammed and controlled using software (e.g., microcode) to performvarious functions discussed herein and may optionally be driven byfirmware and/or software. It is also contemplated that each block, unit,and/or module may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or as acombination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions and aprocessor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associatedcircuitry) to perform other functions. Also, each block, unit, and/ormodule of some embodiments may be physically separated into two or moreinteracting and discrete blocks, units, and/or modules without departingfrom the scope of the inventive concepts. Further, the blocks, units,and/or modules of some embodiments may be physically combined into morecomplex blocks, units, and/or modules without departing from the scopeof the inventive concepts.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure is a part. Terms,such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and should not be interpreted in anidealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.

The inventive concept will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of theinventive concept are illustrated.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a tiled display according to anembodiment, and FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a display deviceincluded in the tiled display of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, a tiled display 1 includes a plurality of displaydevices 10 and a main controller 20.

The display devices 10 may be disposed or connected to be adjacent toeach other. FIG. 1 illustrates that a 3×3 matrix of display devices 10are disposed, but the number and disposition of display devices 10 maybe variously changed. Sizes of the display devices 10 may be the same ordifferent. An overall screen of the tiled display 1 may be flat orcurved. When the screen of the tiled display 1 is curved, a screen ofeach display device 10 may also be curved.

Each display device 10 includes pixels PX. The pixels PX may implement ascreen in which an image is displayed. The screens of respective displaydevices 10 may be combined to form the screen of the tiled display 1.Accordingly, a size of the screen of the tiled display 1 may be definedby a size of the screen of the display device 10 and the number of thedisplay devices 10 connected together or adjacent each other.

The pixels PX may be arranged in a matrix format. A pixel row may bepixels PX arranged in a line in a first direction x, and a pixel columnmay be pixels PX arranged in a line in a second direction y. Eachdisplay device 10 may display a divided image by a combination of pixelsPX. Due to a bezel (outer edge) of the display device 10, a distance d2between adjacent pixels PX in adjacent display devices 10 may be largerthan a distance d1 between adjacent pixels PX in each display device 10.For this reason, because pixels PX in the bezel area are not disposed ata boundary portion of the adjacent display devices 10, the boundaryportion may be darkly viewed compared with other areas having pixels PX,and the boundary portions of the display devices 10 may be viewed like awindow frame in the illustrated tiled display 1.

The main controller 20 may receive and process an input image signal IISand a control signal CS thereof from an external device (for example, agraphics chip) to provide an image signal IS to respective displaydevices 10. The input image signal IIS may be a signal for one entireimage displayed by the tiled display 1, and the main controller 20 mayproduce the image signal IS for a divided image displayed by eachdisplay device 10, which is obtained by dividing one entire image or aplurality of images. Accordingly, each display device 10 mayindividually receive the image signal IS to display a divided image. Theentire image or images displayed on the tiled display 1 may be displayedby combining the divided images displayed by respective display devices10. The image signals IS provided to respective display devices 10 maybe different. When the tiled display 1 includes n number of displaydevices 10, the main controller 20 may generate n number of imagesignals IS to provide them to the corresponding display devices 10.

The main controller 20 may receive distance data DD between adjacentdisplay devices 10 from a distance measurer 30 to generate and output acorrected image signal IS′ according to the distance data DD.Hereinafter, the image signal IS will also be referred to as a normalimage signal IS to distinguish it from the corrected image signal IS′.

The distance data DD may include distance information regardingdistances between the display devices 10. When a distance provided bythe distance data DD between one display device 10 and another is withina predetermined value, the main controller 20 may operate to generatethe corrected image signal IS′ that may increase luminance near aboundary portion of the adjacent display devices 10 (for example,luminance of one or more pixel columns and/or pixel rows disposed nearthe boundary portion). For example, the distance provided by thedistance data DD may be based on the distance d2 between the adjacentpixels PX in the adjacent display devices 10. When the distance d2 iswithin a predetermined value, it is possible to improve the boundaryportion being viewed by increasing the luminance of the pixels PX on oneor opposing display devices 10 near the boundary portion. Accordingly,quality of the entire image displayed by the tiled display 1, which isdisplayed by a combination of the divided images of the display devices10, may be improved. The distance provided by the distance data DD maybe based on a distance d3 between outermost portions of the adjacentdisplay devices 10.

When the distance provided by the distance data DD exceeds thepredetermined value, the main controller 20 may operate to generate thenormal image signal IS. For example, when the distance d2 is more thanthe predetermined value, even if the luminance of the pixels PX near theboundary portion is increased and an edge of each display device 10 isbrightly displayed, it may be difficult to improve the boundary portionfrom being viewed.

When the distance d2 is less than or equal to the predetermined value(for example, when the distance d2 is the same as or is substantiallythe same as the distance d1 between the adjacent pixels PX in eachdisplay device 10), the boundary portion may not be viewed or may behardly viewed, which are desired configurations. In this case, when theluminance of the pixels PX near the boundary portion is increased, theboundary portion and the image adjacent thereto may be furtherprominently viewed.

The predetermined value may be changed according to the distance d1, theentire size of the tiled display 1, a distance between a viewer and thetiled display 1, and the like. For example, the predetermined value maybe about 1 to about 1000 times, about 1 to about 100 times, or about 1to about 10 times the distance d1.

The distance measurer 30 may be included in the tiled display 1. Thedistance measurer 30 may include a part included in the tiled displaydevice 1 and a part provided in the outside.

Meanwhile, the corrected image signal IS′, which may be generated basedon the distance data DD, may be stored as an image conversion settingvalue in a storage part (not illustrated). In such a case, the imageconversion setting value may be loaded immediately when the distanceprovided by the distance data DD is within a predetermined value. Theimage conversion setting value may be stored in a form of a lookuptable. The storage part may store various data related to the operationof the main controller 20.

A configuration and operation of one display device 10 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 2. The display device 10 may include a displaypanel 100, a scan driver 200, a data driver 300, a data distributor 400,and a timing controller 500.

The display panel 100 may include the pixels PX. The display panel 100may provide a screen implemented by the pixels PX. The display panel 100may be a light emitting display panel including a light emitting diode(LED) type or an organic light emitting diode (OLED) type, or a liquidcrystal panel including a liquid crystal layer, but there is nolimitation as long as the display panel 100 is a display panel capableof displaying an image by a combination of the pixels PX. The displaypanel 100 may include signal lines such as scan lines S1 to Sn and datalines D1 to Dm. The scan lines S1 to Sn may be connected to the scandriver 200, and the data lines D1 to Dm may be connected to the datadistributor 400 and the data driver 300.

The pixels PX may configure pixel rows and pixel columns. The pixel rowmay refer to a group of pixels connected to a same scan line, and thepixel column may refer to a group of pixels connected to a same dataline. The display panel 100 may include m pixel columns and n pixel rows(where m and n are each a positive integer). Respective pixels PX areconnected to the scan lines S1 to Sn and the data lines D1 to Dm toreceive a gate signal and a data voltage.

The scan driver 200 may generate a scan signal based on a first controlsignal SCS to apply it to the scan lines S1 to Sn.

The data driver 300 may generate a data voltage based on a secondcontrol signal DCS and image data DAT, and may provide the data voltageto the data distributor 400 through output lines OL. The data voltagemay correspond to the normal image signal IS or the corrected imagesignal IS′.

The data distributor 400 may selectively apply (for example,time-division supply) a data signal to the data lines D1 to Dm based ona third control signal DDCS. The data distributor 400 may includedemultiplexers. For example, each demultiplexer may transmit the datasignal received from the data driver 300 to one of p data lines throughp switching transistors (wherein p is an integer greater than or equalto 2). Depending on the type of the tiled display 1, the datadistributor 400 may not be included.

The timing controller 500 may receive the image signal IS and a timingsignal TS from the main controller 20, and the timing controller 500 maygenerate the first control signal SCS, the second control signal DCS,the third control signal DDCS, and the image data DAT based on thesesignals. The timing signal TS may include a horizontal synchronizationsignal, a vertical synchronization signal, a data enable signal, and aclock signal. When the main controller 20 provides the corrected imagesignal IS′, the timing controller 500 may generate the image data DATbased on the corrected image signal IS′. The timing controller 500 mayprovide the first control signal SCS to the scan driver 200, the secondcontrol signal DCS and the image data DAT to the data driver 300, andthe third control signal DDCS to the data distributor 400. The timingcontroller 500 may be individually provided in respective displaydevices 10, but may also be integrated into the main controller 20.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4 respectively illustrate a schematic view of a tileddisplay according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4 respectively illustrate the tiled display 1 whilemainly illustrating operations of the distance measurer 30 configured toobtain the distance data DD between the display devices 10. In order todistinguish the display devices 10 from one another, for convenience,additional symbols for the display devices 10 are denoted in respectivedisplay devices 10.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the distance measurer 30 may include sensors 31and 32 disposed in each display device 10 of the tiled display 1.Although respective sensors 31 and 32 are illustrated to be disposedapproximately at a center of the display device 10, the position of thesensors 31 and 32 is not limited thereto, and they may be disposed at anedge of the display device 10 or at like points within the displaydevices 10. At least one of the sensors 31 and 32 may be a time offlight (TOF) sensor, but there is no limitation as long as they aresensors that may measure a distance between each other.

At least two sensors may be related as a main sensor and a sub-sensor.For example, one of the sensors 31 and 32 may be a main sensor 31, andthe other thereof may be a sub-sensor 32. As illustrated, the mainsensor 31 may be provided to a display device 10-22 disposed at a centerof the tiled display 1, but may also be provided to a display device 10disposed elsewhere.

The main sensor 31 may measure a distance to the sub-sensor 32 disposedon each display device 10. Based on the measured distance (for example,d21), the main sensor 31 may directly obtain distances between thedisplay device 10-22 on which it is disposed and the display devices10-12, 10-21, 10-23, and 10-32 adjacent to the display device 10-22 inthe first direction x or the second direction y.

Distances may also be obtained along diagonal lines between the x and yaxes. For example, the main sensor may directly obtain distances betweenthe display device 10-22 on which it is disposed and the display devices10-11, 10-13, 10-31, and 10-33 positioned diagonally therefrom.

A distance (for example, d121) between the display devices 10 in whichno main sensor 31 may be obtained from distances (for example, d11 andd21) between the main sensor 31 and the sub-sensors 32 respectivelydisposed in two display devices 10-11 and 10-21, and an angle (forexample, θ) formed by the main sensor 31 and the sub-sensors 32. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, when the main sensor 31 and the twosub-sensors 32 are connected with line segments, a triangle is formed,and in this case, a length of a line segment corresponding to thedistance d121 may be obtained from the line segments corresponding tothe distance d11 and the distance d21 and the angle θ therebetween usingtrigonometric calculations in the distance measurer 30. Based on thedistance d121 between the sub-sensors 32 of the adjacent display devices10-11 and 10-21 thus obtained, a distance between adjacent displaydevices 10 in the first direction x or second direction y may beobtained.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3B that illustrates display devices10-11 and 10-21, when a distance between the sub-sensor 32 and a pixelP1 disposed at an outermost side of the display device 10-11 in thesecond direction y is da in the display device 10-11, and when adistance between the sub-sensor 32 and the pixel P2 disposed at theoutermost side of the display device 10-21 in the second direction y isdb in the display device 10-21, a distance between the adjacent pixelsPX of the adjacent display devices 10-11 and 10-21 may be calculated asd121−(da+db). That is, the length d121 (minus) the sum of da and db.

Referring to FIG. 4, the distance measurer 30 used in the tiled display1 may include sub-sensors 33 disposed in each display device 10. Thesub-sensors 33 may be magnetic sensors that measure a distance bysensing a change of magnetic force according to a distance between twopoints, but there is no limit to this type of sensor as long as sensorsused may measure a distance therebetween. Each display device 10 may beprovided with a plurality of the sub-sensors 33, and the sub-sensors 33may be disposed at an edge of the display device 10 (for example, anedge thereof facing an adjacent display device 10). When the sub-sensors33 are disposed as described above, the distance between the adjacentdisplay devices 10 may be directly obtained from the sub-sensors 33adjacent to respective display devices 10. The distance measurer 30 mayfurther include a main sensor or a distance calculator (not illustrated)that calculates a distance between the display devices 10 based oninformation obtained from respective sub-sensors 33.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an image correction method accordingto an embodiment.

An image correction method will be described with reference to FIG. 1 toFIG. 4 along with FIG. 5. As described above, by the sensors 31, 32, and33 provided in each display device 10, the distance measurer 30 maymeasures the distance between the sensors 31, 32, and 33 in the adjacentdisplay devices 10 to calculate the distance data DD. The distance dataDD may be calculated for each pair of display devices 10 adjacent toeach other. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, when nine displaydevices 10 are disposed, at least sixteen pieces of distance data DD maybe generated because there are 12 pairs of display devices 10 adjacentin the first direction x or second direction y. The sixteen pieces ofdistance data may include eight measurements made between the mainsensor 31 and sub-sensors 32 illustrated in FIG. 3A, and the eightmeasurements made between adjacent sub-sensors 33 illustrated in FIG. 4.

The calculated distance data DD may be inputted to the main controller20. The main controller 20 may generate the normal image signal IS orthe corrected image signal IS′ according to a distance of a specificpart or parts between the adjacent display devices 10 obtained from thedistance data DD to provide to the timing controllers 500 of the displaydevices 10. The main controller 20 may provide the normal image signalIS to all display devices 10 or may provide the corrected image signalIS′ to all display devices 10 using the distance data DD. Alternatively,some display devices 10 may provide the normal image signal IS and someother display devices may provide the corrected image signal IS′.

The normal image signal IS may be generated when the distance providedby the distance data DD between the adjacent display devices 10 is notwithin a predetermined value. The distance and predetermined value maybe based on a distance between specific portions (for example, adistance between adjacent pixels, or a distance between outermostportions of display devices) in the adjacent display devices 10.

When the distance d2 between the adjacent pixels PX in the adjacentdisplay devices 10 is not within the predetermined distance, thecorrected image signal IS′ increasing the luminance of the pixels PXdisposed near the boundary portion in the display devices 10 may not begenerated.

The corrected image signal IS′ may be generated when the distanceprovided by the distance data DD between the adjacent display devices 10is within a predetermined value. When the distance provided by thedistance data DD is within a predetermined value, for example, when thedistance d2 between the adjacent pixels PX in the adjacent displaydevices 10 is within a predetermined distance, the corrected imagesignal IS′ increasing the luminance of the pixels PX disposed near theboundary portion in the display devices 10 may be generated.

For example, when the distance provided by the distance data DD betweenthe display devices 10-11 and 10-21 in FIG. 3A is within a predeterminedvalue, the corrected image signals IS′ increasing the luminance of thepixel rows adjacent to facing edges of the two display devices 10-11 and10-21 may be provided to the display devices 10-11 and 10-21. The pixelrow of which luminance increases may be one or a plurality of pixel rowsfrom the edge thereof. In the same way, when the distance provided bythe distance data DD between the display devices 10-22 and 10-23 iswithin a predetermined value, the corrected image signals IS′ increasingthe luminance of the pixel columns adjacent to facing edges of the twodisplay devices 10-22 and 10-23 may be provided to the display devices10-22 and 10-23. The pixel column of which luminance increases may beone or a plurality of pixel columns from the edge thereof. When thedistance provided by the distance data DD between the display device10-22 and the display devices 10-12, 10-21, 10-23, and 10-32 is within apredetermined value, the display device 10-22 may receive the correctedimage signal IS′ increasing luminance of pixel rows and pixel columnsadjacent to four edges thereof.

A degree of increase in luminance and the number of the pixel rows orpixel columns with increasing luminance are set in consideration of asize of the display device 10, a resolution of the display device 10, adistance between the tiled display 1 and a viewer, and a gray scale ofthe displayed image. In the case of increasing the luminance of aplurality of pixel rows or a plurality of pixel columns, the luminancemay be gradually increased toward the edge (boundary portion) of thedisplay device.

The main controller 20 may generate the corrected image signal IS′ byapplying the above-described luminance increasing algorithm only todisplay devices 10 in which the distance provided by the distance dataDD is within a predetermined value. The main controller 20 may includean image processor (not illustrated) that applies the luminanceincreasing algorithm to the input image signal IIS based on the distancedata DD. Each display device 10 may receive the normal image signal ISor corrected image signal IS′ generated based on the distance data DD.The display device 10 provided with the normal image signal IS maydisplay a normal image, and the display device 10 provided with thecorrected image signal IS′ may display a corrected image havingincreased luminance at an edge portion (near a boundary portion)thereof.

Also, the corrected image signal IS′ may trigger each display device 10to emit a staggered or graded luminance based on a distance a pixel rowor column is from an edge of the display device 10. In one embodiment,rows or columns, such as up to three rows or columns of edge pixels maybe programmed to shine brighter than inner pixels, at the boundary areaof the display devices 10. Also as noted, the outermost pixels may beconfigured to shine in a graded fashion. Based on distance measurements,the corrected image signal IS′ may program the outermost pixels to shinea luminance, a second row or column one level below, a third row orcolumn another level below, and then the inner pixels programmed all toa same luminance provided by the normal image signal IS, lower than thehigher three levels. Such a configuration may be pleasing to a viewer'seyes and blend one display device 10 into another over the boundaryregion.

Meanwhile, even if the distance provided by the distance data DD iswithin a predetermined value, when the image displayed by the tileddisplay 1 is black or a low gray, the main controller 20 may generateand provide the normal image signal IS to all of the display devices 10.When a black or dark image is displayed and when the luminance of theedge of the display device 10 is increased, such a portion may beviewed. Even if the tiled display 1 does not display a black image or alow gray image as a whole, when a portion displayed near the boundaryportion of the adjacent display devices 10 is a black or low gray, themain controller 20 may provide the normal image signal IS to thecorresponding display devices 10.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 respectively illustrate a schematic view of a tileddisplay according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 illustrate embodiments in which the main sensor 31 ofthe distance measurer 30 is disposed at the outside of the tiled display1.

Referring to FIG. 6, the distance measurer 30 may include the mainsensor 31 disposed at the outside of the tiled display 1 and thesub-sensors 32 disposed within respective display devices 10 of thetiled display 1.

The main sensor 31 may be disposed anywhere as long as the distance tothe sub-sensors 32 may be measured. The main sensor 31 may measure adistance to each sub-sensor 32 and an angle (θ) formed between twosub-sensors 32 and the main sensor 31 to obtain a distance between thetwo sub-sensors 32 and to calculate the distance data DD between thedisplay devices 10. A specific method to calculate the distance data DDand a method to generate the corrected image signal IS′ based on thedistance data DD and displaying the corrected image may be the same asthose described above, so redundant descriptions will be omitted.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, measuring the distances d11 andd21, and the angle θ, using trigonometric functions of a right trianglethe distance d121 may be determined. Centers of the main sensor 31 andsub-sensors 32 may be used as reference points when measuring distances.Also, a Cartesian coordinate system using measured distances d11 and d21may be used to determine the angle θ, and then trigonometric functionsmay be used to determine the distance d121. The main controller 20 mayalso include a comparator that may be configured to compare distanced121 obtained by different methods and determine accuracy of ameasurement or calculation.

Referring to FIG. 7, the distance measurer 30 may include the mainsensor 31 disposed at the outside of the tiled display 1 and thesub-sensors 32 disposed in respective display devices 10 of the tileddisplay 1. The main sensor 31 may be disposed on a straight linevertically extending from a center of the display device 10-22 disposedat a center of the display devices 10. When the main sensor 31 isdisposed as described above, how far the display devices 10 surroundingthe display device 10-22 disposed at the center are from the center ofthe display device 10-22 may be calculated in one of the above-describedmanners. The obtained distance data (hereinafter, referred to asoff-center distance data to distinguish it from the distance data DDbetween the adjacent display devices 10 described above) may be used toadjust the luminance of the tiled display 1. The main sensor 31 is notdisposed at the outside of the tiled display 1, but may be provided atthe center of the display device 10-22 disposed at the center asillustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 8 illustrates a luminance adjustment area in a tiled displayaccording to an embodiment.

When a viewer watches an image, he (she) may see a center of a screen inmore detail. Therefore, in the tiled display 1, when the luminance ofthe central portion thereof is increased or the luminance of theperipheral portion thereof is decreased, image immersion may beincreased. In order to allow the luminance of the central portion of thetiled display 1 to be different from that of the peripheral portion, asthe distance from the center of the tiled display 1 increases, the areaof the tiled display 1 may be divided into a plurality of areas, and theluminance of each area may be differently controlled.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the entire area (corresponding tothe screen) of the tiled display 1 may be divided into a first area A1,a second area A2 and a third area A3. The main controller 20 maydetermine which display devices 10 are different distances away from thecenter of the tiled display 1 through the off-center distance dataobtained from the distance measurer 30. Therefore, the main controller20 may generate the corrected image signal IS′ that decreases luminancein the first area Al disposed in the central portion and increasesluminance in the third area A3 disposed farthest from the center basedon the off-center distance data to provide it to the correspondingdisplay devices 10. The display device 10 may receive the correctedimage signal IS′ that overall increases or decreases luminance in givenareas, and may receive the corrected image signal IS′ that increases ordecreases luminance of a specific area and maintains luminance ofanother specific area.

Because the sub-sensors 32 are provided in each display device 10, evenif the arrangement of the display devices 10 is changed when the tileddisplay 1 is installed, the off-center distance data away from thecenter of the tiled display 1 may be obtained, and luminance may beadjusted for each area based on this.

Meanwhile, the above-described area-specific luminance adjustment may becombined with the luminance adjustment (increasing luminance near theboundary portion) based on the distance data DD between the adjacentdisplay devices 10 described above. In this case, the main controller 20may generate the corrected image signal IS′ based on the off-centerdistance data and the distance data DD.

Although certain embodiments and implementations have been describedherein, other embodiments and modifications will be apparent from thisdescription. Accordingly, the inventive concepts are not limited to suchembodiments, but rather to the broader scope of the appended claims andvarious obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements as would beapparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tiled display comprising: a plurality ofdisplay devices respectively including a plurality of pixels; and a maincontroller that processes an input image signal to provide an imagesignal to the plurality of display devices, wherein, based on distancedata between adjacent display devices among the plurality of displaydevices, the main controller generates a corrected image signal thatincreases luminance near a boundary portion of the adjacent displaydevices.
 2. The tiled display of claim 1, wherein the distance data isbased on a distance between adjacent pixels in the adjacent displaydevices or a distance between outermost portions of the adjacent displaydevices.
 3. The tiled display of claim 1, wherein the main controllergenerates the corrected image signal when a distance provided by thedistance data is within a predetermined value, and generates a normalimage signal when the distance provided by the distance data is outsideof the predetermined value.
 4. The tiled display of claim 3, whereineven if the distance is within the predetermined value, when a blackimage is displayed near the boundary portion, the main controllergenerates a normal image signal.
 5. The tiled display of claim 1,wherein increasing luminance near the boundary portion includesincreasing luminance of one or more pixel rows or pixel columns adjacentto the boundary portion.
 6. The tiled display of claim 1, whereinincreasing luminance near the boundary portion includes graduallyincreasing luminance of a plurality of pixel rows or pixel columnsadjacent to the boundary portion toward the boundary portion.
 7. Thetiled display of claim 1, further comprising: a distance measurerconfigured to generate distance data between the plurality of displaydevices to provide the distance data to the main controller.
 8. Thetiled display of claim 7, wherein the distance measurer includes aplurality of sensors respectively disposed in the plurality of displaydevices.
 9. The tiled display of claim 8, wherein the plurality ofsensors include a main sensor disposed in one of the plurality ofdisplay devices and a sub-sensor disposed at remaining display devicesof the plurality of display devices, and the main sensor measures adistance to the sub-sensor to generate the distance data.
 10. The tileddisplay of claim 8, wherein the distance measurer generates off-centerdistance data between a central display device disposed at a center ofthe plurality of display devices and display devices surrounding thecentral display device, and the main controller generates the correctedimage signal based on the distance data and the off-center distancedata.
 11. An image correction method of a tiled display including aplurality of display devices, comprising: generating distance databetween adjacent display devices among the plurality of display devices;generating a corrected image signal that increases luminance near aboundary portion of the adjacent display device, based on an input imagesignal and the distance data; and displaying a corrected image withincreased luminance near the boundary portion according to the correctedimage signal.
 12. The image correction method of claim 11, wherein thedistance data is generated based on a distance between adjacent pixelsin the adjacent display devices or a distance between outermost portionsof the adjacent display devices.
 13. The image correction method ofclaim 11, wherein the corrected image signal generates the correctedimage signal when a distance provided by the distance data is within apredetermined value.
 14. The image correction method of claim 13,wherein. even if the distance is within the predetermined value, when ablack image is displayed near the boundary portion, a normal imagesignal is generated.
 15. The image correction method of claim 11,wherein the displaying of the corrected image includes increasingluminance of one or more pixel rows or pixel columns adjacent to theboundary portion.
 16. The image correction method of claim 11, whereinthe displaying of the corrected image includes gradually increasingluminance of a plurality of pixel rows or pixel columns adjacent to theboundary portion toward the boundary portion.
 17. The image correctionmethod of claim 11, wherein the generating of the distance data includesmeasuring a distance between a plurality of sensors respectivelydisposed in the plurality of display devices.
 18. The image correctionmethod of claim 11, wherein the generating of the distance data includesmeasuring a distance between a plurality of sub-sensors disposed in theplurality of display devices and a main sensor disposed outside thetiled display.
 19. The image correction method of claim 11, furthercomprising generating off-center distance data between a central displaydevice disposed at a center among a plurality of display devices anddisplay devices surrounding the central display device, wherein thecorrected image signal is generated based on the input image signal, thedistance data, and the off-center distance data.
 20. The imagecorrection method of claim 19, wherein a corrected image in whichluminance near the boundary portion is increased and luminance of acentral portion of the tiled display is increased according to thecorrected image signal is displayed.